I'm trying to create some custom-sequenced Bluray discs, for strictly private use. In case it matters, I use a brand-new ASUS mboard, an also-brand-new Intel i5 at 3.4 Ghz, and Adobe Premier Elements 11.
One of my biggest problems is occasional-to-frequent computer crashes after I have finished sequencing/editing/compiling, while the computer is spending more than an hour doing the encoding work, before anything ever gets burned to disc, or even stored on my HD in a form that is ready for compilation.
So, the Q is:
Can I compile moderately short chunks, and have Premier encode them to something like VOB files, which can be stored in complete form on my HD, so that I can then compile those VOB's (or whatever) and burn them onto a Bluray disc, after I have several VOB files ready?
And if so, how? Can anyone provide a basic step-by-step to help me at least get started?

You should do some basic testing on system stability. Make sure your cpu heatsink is attached correctly. Monitor your cpu heat with CoreTemp while you run an encode.

Run Memtest 86+ and see if you get any errors in your memory.

Vob files are found in DVD's. You'll need m2ts files in Blu-ray, but those can be made in the authoring stage. I've used raw h264 video as input to my Blu-ray authoring program, but I wasn't using Elements to make them, so I can't advise you on using Adobe Elements.

Jagabo - I have never yet seen a Windows system that did not crash, on occasion.
So, you could just as well tell me I should learn to use Linux, or abandon Windows and go to all-Mac.
Maybe I should, but I'm not going to, any time soon.
I'll try Kerry's two tips; if you can recommend any other specific utilities that would help, please do.
BTW, I use slowed-down speeds, and reverse speeds, a fair amount.
Those add a lot of additional complexity/difficulty to the encoding process,
so maybe that's part of the problem I'm wrestling with.

Anyway, I'm still trying to get an answer to the Q I posed above.
Can I encode large chunks, presumably as m2ts files, in Premier Elements,
and -- after those are ready -- burn several of those onto a Bluray disc,
using Premier, or any other software that will make the right folders and supporting files??
If anyone can help me answer that Q, I would appreciate it, very much.

If you are having problems with multiple stage workflow, break your stages up into segments

1. Edit (incl slowmo, rvrs processes), outputing uncompressed to image sequences. If you crash, you just render from the last good frame onward. Do a separate render pass of just the (whole) audio.
2. Encode your image seq to HD mpeg2 video. As long as you have whole, selfcontained GOPs, you could subsequently join them. To do this though, you would have to know/specify the exact GOP sequence so you can encode on GOP boundaries. Join. Mux, if necessary, at this point. Into PS, VOB, TS - whatever works for your next stage's input.
3. Author to BDMV/AVCHD.
4. Burn.

But jagabo is right: you shouldn't be having this much trouble, even in a Windows machine. You should troubleshoot and fix your PC first.

Thanks, guys. I installed another case fan, as well as CoreTemp, and will give 'em both a try.
BTW, the best DL site I found for CoreTemp is here:http://www.majorgeeks.com/mg/get/core_temp_1_rc4,2.html\
That offered me both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, clean, with no unwanted extras.
The coders' site wanted to install a "download manager", and I don't like those.

The 720p video encoded faster, but not by much (27:52 versus 31:33).
However, when the 1080p video finished encoding, Premier gave me a "device error" message,
and there was absolutely no way I could rescue anything from that half-hour encoding session.

So . . . all the more reason why I prefer to divide a project into manageable chunks,
and then handle those chunks separately.

As I see it, it's kind of like being able to replace a malfunctioning mainboard, if necessary.
Or a malfunctioning hard disk.
Or a malfunctioning optical drive.
Or a malfunctioning RAM insert.
Or a malfunctioning video card.

If anyone out there doesn't see the advantages of having computer components divided into subassemblies,
each of which can be replaced -- all by itself -- if it malfunctions, let me know.
Tell me what part you don't understand, and I'll try to explain it.

I'm simply trying to bring that same type of approach, to this type of challenge.

BTW -- before I clicked on the "cancel" button after I got the "device error" message
(since I had absolutely NO other options, in Premier Elements),
I checked to see what Premier had generated.
It had created a file called "moviem4v.m4v", with 3.6 Gb (presumably the pic only, if BluRay is comparable to DVD),
and a second file called "moviem4v.ac3" with 36 Mb (presumably the audio track).
However, BOTH of those files completely disappeared, as soon as I closed Premier.
Would it be worthwhile for me to try to save a copy of those files,
if I ever get another "Device error" message after my machine spends a lot of time encoding?

********
Final note -
none of my core temperatures rose above 74 C.
So, that part was/is good, and I have to asssume the additional fan helped, so thanks for that good advice.
BTW, what is the highest temperature an Intel i5 chip should go to?
And, if I come back to my computer after an hour of being away, and find a "blue screen of death"
or some other "Premier has failed" message, will CoreTemp let me find out what happened,
in some sort of log that can survive a blue screen?

before I clicked on the "cancel" button after I got the "device error" message.. I checked to see what Premier had generated... a file called "moviem4v.m4v", with 3.6 Gb... and a second file called "moviem4v.ac3" with 36 Mb... BOTH of those files completely disappeared, as soon as I closed Premier.
Would it be worthwhile for me to try to save a copy of those files?

Maybe. You can try playing them individually to see if they are complete. Or muxing them into the container of your choice.

Originally Posted by engineerer

none of my core temperatures rose above 74 C.

That's pretty hot. My i5 2500K rarely goes over 55 C under full load. At idle it's around 30 to 35. Tj-max for your CPU is around 98 C -- so 74 C under 100 percent load should be ok as far as the CPU is concerned. But heat from the CPU may cause other components in your system to overheat if you don't have sufficient case cooling.

Something is very wrong there. Even with stock Intel heatsink/fan, non-OC (2.6GHz), 100% CPU load (courtesy of prime95), this ancient i7-920 topped at average 56°C. Even after applying OC (3.4GHz, most stable), but with Corsair water-cooled heatsink, it went down to average 48°C.
Your CPU heatsink may not be properly mounted, or the heatsink compound has dried up or improperly applied, or the fan may be defective, or lots of things inside the case block natural airflow, or the case is filled to the brim with cuddly dust bunnies, or all of the above.
Get with it ASAP before your CPU gets damaged! You'll have more to worry about than Premiere and 720/1080 if it does.

For the nth time, with the possible exception of certain Intel processors, I don't have/ever owned anything whose name starts with "i".

Jagabo and Turk -
Many thanks for the alert. I didn't have a good frame of reference, to interpret a 76 C temp.
I'll disassemble, scrape off the old heat transfer goo (from a tube maybe 2-3 years old), and apply new premium stuff.
*********
For anyone else who might check this thread because they want something similar:

To create large mpeg2 video chunks that can later be compiled to Bluray or DVD, in Premier Elements
(once you've done your sequencing work), the main step are:
1. Click on "Publish & Share" (upper right corner)
2. Choose "Computer - Export files for viewing on computers"
3. Choose "MPEG" and then choose a preset -
to save time, 720p encoding is available (in either 25 or 30 fps = frames/second),
and for max quality, 1140 x 1080 (for old-style 4x3 TV screens) and 1920x1080 (for 16x9 screens)
formats are available, in either 25 or 30 fps modes.

So . . . that's exactly what I was hoping and looking for.
Many thanks, guys!